The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for culture growth and testing, and more particularly to a fully programmable automated turbidimeter/colorimeter system for accurately measuring and comparing turbidity or growth and optical density, gradually changing or stable, among multiple bacterial specimens under carefully controlled conditions.
In the course of experiments for determining the behavior of bacterial cultures treated with antibiotics and exposed to varying combinations of magnetic fields, experimental specimens were exposed to magnetic fields and identically handled control specimens were not so exposed. In those experiments it was observed that, following treatment with antibiotic, neither experimental nor control cultures showed any measurable growth for about 12 hours, after which the cultures began to show growth but at different rates. Following the progress of the culture growth and making critical measurements at prescribed time intervals therefore required the attention of laboratory personnel substantially constantly for protracted periods of time of up to eighteen hours or more. No reliable conventional system existed for making the desired measurements automatically in a substantially continuous manner.
The invention solved or substantially reduced in critical importance problems in the prior art as just suggested by providing a fully programmable automated turbidimeter/colorimeter system.
It is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved turbidimeter for measuring bacterial growth.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a lightweight and compact turbidimeter.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a fully programmable and automated turbidimeter.
It is another object of the invention to provide a programmable automated turbidimeter for measuring the magnetic effects on bacterial culture growth.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a programmable automated turbidimeter for measuring antibiotic effects on bacterial culture growth.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent as a detailed description of representative embodiments proceeds.
In accordance with the foregoing principles and objects of the invention, a programmable automated turbidimeter/colorimeter system for accurately measuring growth among multiple bacterial specimens is described which in a preferred representative embodiment includes a motor driven rotatable carousel assembly disposed within an aluminum housing, the carousel assembly including a plurality of evenly spaced peripheral holes for receiving a corresponding plurality of disposable culture test tubes, a light source and a light detector disposed in spaced confronting relationship to each other whereby the culture tubes pass therebetween, and a signal amplifier and a recorder for recording optical densities of each specimen as the carousel is continuously rotated. A concentric magnetic shield may be disposed on one side of the carousel for shielding experimental specimens from control specimens in measurements of magnetic effects on the cultures.